Assessment of Medical Professionalism: Development and psychometric analysis of Professionalism Assessment Tool (PAT) in Pakistani context using Delphi Techniques.

Objective: This study aims to develop and assess the content validity along with the reliability of a Professionalism Assessment Tool (PAT) with an intention to measure professionalism among undergraduate medical students. Methods: This psychometric analytical study validation study was carried out at Rawalpindi Medical University from 1st February to 1st June, 2021 after establishing feasibility and obtaining ethical approval. The non-probability convince sampling was employed to collect data. Using Nunnally's, the ratio of e subjects per item was selected, as our preliminary tool has 48 items so 384 sample size was estimated for scale validation. The preliminary 48-item tool with five subscales(cSS) developed through mutual consensus by the Delphi technique namely Communication skill(cSS1),-7 item, Accountability(cSS2)-8 item, Altruism(cSS3)-13 item, Self-Directed Learning (cSS4)-10 item and Ethics(cSS5),-10 item was labelled as Professionalism Assessment Tool (PAT). The tool was administered to 4th year MBBS students, the data obtained was analyzed by calculating Cronbach's alpha to estimate the reliability. The SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis. Results: The 48-item PAT had an overall reliability (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.783. The Reliability of the new Subscales were communication skills (0.405), self-directed learning (0.527), Accountability (0.378), Altruism (0.486) and Ethics (0.715). Conclusion: The final tool developed for assessment of professionalism had 48 items on a seven point Likert like scale, across five Subscales. Results showed that it was determined as a useful tool in assessing professionalism in undergraduate medical students to generate reliable results for valid decision-making.

Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID­19) in Pakistan: Psychological impact and coping strategies of Health Care Professionals.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to explore factors that can impact psychological health and coping strategies to help health care professionals (HCPs) to perform their duties. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted using structured questionnaire electronically shared with the participants after ethical approval. Descriptive statistics were calculated for socio demographic variables. Chi squared χ2 test was used to compare the responses between different groups of HCPs. RESULTS: Survey was completed by 250 participants. They performed their duties diligently during outbreak but were concerned about their safety, had fear of infecting themselves and their family members. Lack of evidence-based guidelines for patient management, news about pandemic situation through media and to deal with uncooperative patients not willing for quarantine added to their stress. receiving honour and respect from general public in recognition of services, monetary benefit, adequate training to treat COVID-19, provision of personal protective equipment from government were reported as coping strategies for psychological impact. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 outbreak had psychological impact on HCPs, yet they continued to perform their duties carefully as moral obligation. Continued moral with financial support and acknowledgement of their services by government, organization and general public was reported to have psychological benefit.

First aid facilities in the school settings: Are schools able to manage adequately?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Children spend most of their time in schools and are vulnerable to injuries and mild ailments, hence requiring first-aid care. School teacher can provide immediate first-aid care in the absence of any health professional. This study assesses first-aid facilities within school premises and assessment of teachers on first aid training. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted from July-December 2017, participants were full time school teachers of both public and private sectors at both primary and secondary levels, having a minimum of one year experience. Questionnaire was filled on one to one basis by taking oral interview. RESULTS: Out of 209 teachers, 72.7% were from private sector. Stomachache was the most common medical incident (82.29%) requiring first-aid care in schools. First aid box was available in all schools but its contents were not satisfactory. Sick bay was not found in any school. 68.42% of teachers were not trained in first-aid management because of lack of opportunity, however 56% were willing to enroll in any first aid training and majority (91.38%) considered it essential for their professional life. CONCLUSION: First aid facilities at various schools of Karachi and availability of trained teachers who can provide first aid care is unsatisfactory.

COVID-19 Pandemic Awareness, Attitudes, and Practices Among the Pakistani General Public.

Background: Outbreak of COVID-19, in many countries, has imposed a lockdown on their residents. The usefulness of extenuative actions is extremely reliant on society's knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward pandemic control. Objective: This study aimed to explore the awareness, attitudes, and practices of the general Pakistani population to COVID-19. Methods: From June 13, 2020, until June 30, 2020, a cross-sectional online KAP survey was conducted among the Pakistani public. For data collection, a validated self-administered questionnaire was used. The survey instrument consisted of six demographic characteristics, 14 items on knowledge, four on attitudes, and six items on practices, modified from a previously published questionnaire on COVID-19. Results: The present study included 2,307 participants, 58.3% males and 41.7% of females. The majority (86.7%) sought information from social media (SM) and television, 95% had good practices, 89.9% had positive attitudes, and two-thirds (67.4%) of the respondents had adequate knowledge. The students and people from younger age groups had more positive attitudes compared with others. Highly educated w with other groups (p < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio indicated that the private job was negatively associated, and high monthly income was positively associated with adequate knowledge (OR = 0.595). Old age was the predictor of negative attitude, and high school degrees and master's degrees were associated with good practice scores. Conclusion: The Pakistani general population has an overall positive attitude and proactive practices against COVID-19, but their knowledge is inadequate. The most important source of information was SM, followed by television. These are playing a crucial role in educating the Pakistani public.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices against the growing threat of COVID-19 among medical students of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: On account of the COVID-19 pandemic, many changes have been implicated in university medical students. We are cognizant that pandemic can be controlled with dedicated contributions from all involved in the healthcare profession. Therefore, it is important to know the pandemic and application of knowledge by the medical students to formulate a further line of management in Pakistan. OBJECTIVE: We aimed toinvestigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 and its impact on medical students of Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in June 2020 by a validated self-administered questionnaire. The survey instrument was tailored from a published questionnaire comprised of questions on demographics (6), knowledge (14), attitudes (4), and practices (6). RESULTS: Of the 1474 medical students in the study, 576(39.1%) were males, and 898(60.1%) were females. Two-thirds of the participants 1057(71.7%) had adequate knowledge, and almost all the students had positive attitudes (1363(92.5%), and good practices 1406(95.4%) to COVID-19. Two-thirds of the medical students 1023(69%) believed that the COVID-19 outbreak had affected their social, mental, and psychological well-being. One-quarter of the medical students 391(26%) become more religious, 597(40%) realized the importance of life, and 1140(77%) became careless because of the pandemic. The female medical students were 2.545 times (p < .001) and 4.414 times (p < .001) more likely to have positive attitudes and good practices toward COVID-19 as compared to males. CONCLUSION: Medical students, especially females and senior year scholars, were well-versed with desired levels of knowledge, attitudes, and preventive measures toward COVID-19. Most of them recognized COVID 19, is shaping their social, mental, and psychological well-being and encroaching on the healthcare system and economy. The information acquired by the KAP study may help to devise effective preventive strategies for future events.